Author Archives: MarthaJohnson

Take a December Pause

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When December arrives, it always hits me in a profound way. It’s cold, wintery, and the “ending” of the annual 12-month cycle of months of each year.

JanusWithout particular formality, I always find myself pausing to seek perspective…I look back, and I take stock. I pause to look at life in the context of what is ending, what needs to end, and what might begin. I participate in my own way with the cycle of season changes.

Serendipitously, the book EXIT: The endings that set us free by Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, called for my attention. It helped allow the metaphor of the current year’s annual ending to take on broader significance.

There are so many exits over a lifetime.  Those we anticipate and those we choose seem to be the most common in our younger years as we grow and change.  Then there are those that come unbidden, the welcome and not so welcome, and the ones that bring relief or bring pain, or both.

How do we notice them, make peace with them, make meaning of them, and handle them gracefully?   Continue reading

What’s the secret to getting ahead?

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Mark Twain suggests that it is simply “getting started.”

I must admit…the core operating principle of my Martha persona has been for most of my life,  “get clear, and get moving.” But, I’m older now. (Sometimes I need a reminder of this reality!)  I seem, these days, to be choosing a more relaxing way to do so. By starting a small daily practice…reminding myself of what I am now caring about.

img_7071Inspired by friends who shared their daily “gratitude practice” in this season of Thanksgiving, I created something I think will work for me. Since a “daily” practice is new for me, we’ll see if I can maintain it in a way that nourishes.  I’ve selected three questions which my readers will undoubtedly recognize, ones which either remind me or serve to acknowledge that I’m moving in the direction of choice as a woman soon to be 77.  They are:

  1. How am I living fully?
  2. How am I aging gracefully?
  3. How am I befriending my death?

Yesterday’s answers WERE nourishing: Continue reading

What’s So for You?

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The leaves are falling, the colors changing. Today I felt the chill of winter in my bones, while at the same time welcoming the warmth of finally “knowing.” My recent public “gigs” on Third Chapter Mastery™ have deepened my commitment to create spaces where those over 60 can give themselves permission to prepare for their remaining years. I want to bring clarity and courage and a regret-free third chapter life to all those who seek that result for themselves.  That’s my mission. That’s “what’s so” for me.

As I speak to groups, I note among participants a real hunger to articulate the queries that arise as they face this gift of longevity as the unexpected phenomenon it has been. “How will I navigate these next 20 or 30 or more, years?” Continue reading